Roadway crash barrier device

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a roadway crash barrier device, which roadway crash barrier device ( 1 ) is capable of absorbing energy from a moving vehicle and contributes to the deceleration of the vehicle when hit, and which comprises shock-absorbing elements ( 10 ), constituted by tires, having elastic and shock-absorbing properties and being linked to a friction mat ( 2 ), having an extension substantially parallel to the support surface, wherein the tires ( 10 ) are disposed along a horizontal, axis, extending along a forward edge of said friction mat ( 2 ), and that the tires&#39; ( 10 ) traction surface constitutes a friction surface ( 50 ) contacting the support surface.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a roadway crash barrier device, whichroadway crash barrier device is capable of absorbing energy from amoving vehicle and contributes to the deceleration of the vehicle whenhit, and which comprises shock-absorbing elements, constituted by tires,having elastic and shock-absorbing properties and being linked to afriction mat, having an extension substantially parallel to the supportsurface.

STATE OF THE ART

The present invention relates to roadway crash barrier devices reducingdamages to vehicles, people, and other material, e.g. at road worksites. Methods, arrangements and structures related to theabove-mentioned technical field are previously known in a plurality ofdifferent embodiments.

For example, at road work sites and accident clear-ups, the traffic isoften rerouted to other roadways. Roadway crash barrier devices thenserve to reroute the traffic to the other roadway and also as aprotection for workers and machines at the road work site or accidentsite. Another purpose with roadway crash barrier devices is to as muchas possible reduce the damage to a vehicle, and its passengers, that forsome reason smashes into the roadway crash barrier device. Commonlyoccurring roadway crash barrier devices are constituted by stacks oftires which are positioned alongside, or across the roadway. Thesestacks, however, can be very dangerous, since they consist of tireswhich are more or less bound together, and which, when hit, can be sentflying like a projectile, and hit road workers, other vehicles, etc.

US 2007/0140790 discloses a traffic crash absorber consisting of tirestacks, which are connected by bolts. Several stacks can be linked toeach other to form a longer crash absorber. Each stack is provided witha safety arrangement, so that in case a stack is hit and rolls over, itcannot start rolling away.

WO 99/39054 discloses a safety barrier, primarily intended for usearound racetracks. Rows of tires are placed in some kind or restrainingmeans/covering, so that the tires are held in place and are not sentflying by a collision.

GB 2440145 discloses a barrier, where a number of tires are securedtogether and form a tube, wherein the tube is partially filled withsand, etc. The tube is provided with securing means, so that it can besecured to a loading bay, dock or a road work site.

NO 20083961 discloses a traffic crash absorber, where stacks ofconnected tires are linked to a mat-like net structure of, for example,reinforcement bars. When a vehicle is driven onto the net and collideswith the tire stacks, the tires are prevented from being scatteredaround in that they are connected together and secured by means of thenet.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to offer a roadway crashbarrier device that is improved in several respects, which is achievedby means of a roadway crash barrier device according to claim 1.

Thanks to the invention, a roadway crash barrier device can be offeredwhich means that a vehicle is decelerated to a stop in a considerablyshorter distance than in present roadway crash barrier devices, but notso abruptly that it becomes a danger to the passengers in the vehicle.

According to one aspect, the shock-absorbing elements are constituted bytires, contributing to a shock-absorbing and efficient energy absorptionwhen hit.

According to still another aspect, the shock-absorbing elements areconnected together by means of at least one continuous rod, contributingto holding the tires together in a collision, which saves lives andprevents damages to people, vehicles, as well as other material, e.g. ata road work site. The rod also contributes to distributing the load toseveral shock-absorbing elements in a collision.

According to still another aspect, the friction mat and theshock-absorbing elements (tires) are linked together by means ofconnecting means, preferably via the continuous rod. When a vehicle isdriven onto the mat and collides with the shock-absorbing elements, theelements cannot be scattered around since the weight of the vehicleprevents the mat, and indirectly also the elements, from being pushedaway. The rod also contributes to fixing the relative positions of thetires, and the connecting means contribute to giving the tires asuitable position relative to the friction mat.

According to still another aspect, there are preferably severalcontinuous rods distributed circumferentially along the tire sides. Onecontinuous rod is preferably placed in the lower half of the tire,suitably adjacent to the traction surface, where a connecting means issecured. Preferably, another continuous rod, to which another connectingmeans is secured, is located in the upper half of the tire, suitably inthe rearward one of the two symmetrically placed circular sectors in theupper half of the tire, as seen in the driving direction of the roadsection, i.e. the upper circular sector facing the friction mat.

According to another aspect, the tire sides comprise elastically orplastically deformable stiffening elements, which are preferablydisposed circumferentially inside the tire sides, to thereby achieve animproved shock absorbing capability. According to this aspect of theinvention, the stiffening properties of the stiffening elements areadapted such that the tires do not become too stiff when hit by avehicle, but can be deformed and provide an increased friction areabetween tires and roadway for increased friction. This is most easilyachieved if the stiffening elements are constituted by one or severaltire sides from other tires.

According to another aspect, the shock-absorbing elements and/or thefriction mat is/are adapted to interact with engagement meansinteracting with the support surface, with the purpose of increasing thefriction, primarily on softer support surfaces such as ice, snow andgravel, and thereby improving the deceleration. These engagement meansare preferably constituted by snow chains for the tires, and hooks orbarbs for the bottom side of the friction mat.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

In the following, the invention will be described in greater detail withreference to the accompanying figures of the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a roadway crash barrier device in a preferred embodimentaccording to the invention, as seen from above;

FIG. 2 shows a roadway crash barrier device according to the invention,as seen from the side;

FIG. 3 shows a vehicle that has been driven onto a roadway crash barrierdevice according to the invention, as seen from the side;

FIG. 4 shows an alternative roadway crash barrier device according tothe invention, as seen from above;

FIG. 5 shows a close-up view of an interconnection between twoshock-absorbing elements according to the invention;

FIG. 6 shows an alternative roadway crash barrier device according tothe invention, seen obliquely from above;

FIG. 7 shows an alternative roadway crash barrier device according tothe invention, seen obliquely from above; and

FIG. 8 shows an alternative roadway crash barrier device according tothe invention, seen obliquely from above.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

In the following description of the roadway crash barrier deviceaccording to the invention, the relative position of certain objects isdescribed with “forward” and “rearward”, respectively. As long asnothing else is stated, forward and rearward always refer to a positionas seen in the driving direction of the road section, such that aforward position is further away from an approaching vehicle than arearward position.

FIG. 1 shows a roadway crash barrier device 1 in a preferred embodimentaccording to the invention, in a view from above. The roadway crashbarrier device 1 comprises a friction mat 2 and shock-absorbing elements10, preferably truck tires 10. The truck tires 10 are arranged standingside by side along a horizontal, concentric axis, and three rods 4,preferably threaded rods, pass through the tires 10 and hold the tires10 in place. On both sides of the respective tires, the tires aresuitably fixed laterally to the rod 4, most simply by means an outersupport washer and a locking nut on the threaded rod (not shown), whichenables easy mounting and dismounting and adjustment of the relativedistances between the tires.

The interconnected tires 10 are disposed at one edge of a friction mat2, which is preferably constituted by a grid of reinforcement bars, e.g.a reinforcement mat. The ends of the rods 4 comprise attachment means40, preferably in the form of an eye 40, e.g. a chain link. The tires10, arranged on the rods 4, are secured to the friction mat 2 viaconnecting means 3, preferably wires 3, having hooks at their ends. Thewires 3 are hooked into the eye of the rod 4, and, at the other end,they are hooked to the friction mat 2. Preferably, wires 3 are disposedat the ends of the rods 4, but preferably also between every tire 10,for a stable attachment between tire 10 and friction mat 2, for whichreason eyes 40 are placed also between every tire. The friction mat 2has a length

L in the range of 1-5 m, more preferably of 2-3 m, and a width B in therange of 1-5 m, more preferably of 2-3 m.

FIG. 2 shows a roadway crash barrier device 1 in a preferred embodimentof the invention, in a view from the side. The friction mat 2 extendssubstantially in parallel with the support surface, and shock-absorbingelements 10 are disposed at the forward end of the crash barrier deviceof tires, as seen in the driving direction of a road section when thecrash barrier device is positioned across the roadway. Theseshock-absorbing elements 10 are preferably constituted by truck tires,here seen from the side, which have a height H1 of about 1 m, suitablefor the purpose, and a width of about 0.3 m. At least one, but suitablyseveral rods 4A, 4B, 4C enters/enter into the side of the tire 10 andcontinues/continue through all tires 10 in the crash barrier device 1,to emerge at the other end of the lined-up tires 10. The crash barrierdevice comprises at least one lower rod 4A passing through the tires 10in the lower part of the tires, preferably at the bottom adjacent to afriction surface (commonly called a traction surface) 50. The frictionsurface 50 is constituted by a portion of the friction surface of thetire contacting the support surface, where tire 10 and support surfaceare in contact with each other. Preferably, a rearward upper rod 4C, andpreferably also a forward upper rod 4B, is/are passing through the tires10 higher up. According to not yet researched theories, it is likelythat the rearward upper rod 4C, and, in occurring cases, also theforward upper rod 4B, should be secured to the upper half of the tire,i.e. above the centre, wherein a vehicle is prevented from climbing ontoand over the tires. The rearward upper rod 4C is suitably placed in therearward one of the two symmetrically placed circular sectors in theupper half of the tire, as seen in the driving direction of the roadsection, i.e. the upper circular sector facing the friction mat. Therods 4A, 4B, 4C are preferably rotationally-symmetrically positioned inthe tires at about 120° intervals.

Furthermore, as mentioned earlier, the friction mat 2 and the tires 10are connected together via the rods 4A, 4B, 4C by means of connectingmeans, here wires 3. The wires 3, having hooks at both of their ends,are hooked into the eyes 40 of the rods 4 at one end, and the other endis hooked to the friction mat 2, preferably to one or severalreinforcement bars 30 extending in parallel with the rods 4 in the mat2, see FIG. 1.

It is likely that a favourable deformation of the tires 10, contributingto increasing the friction area optimally, can be achieved by hookingthe wires 3 to the friction mat in a special pattern. Wires running fromthe lower rod 4A are secured adjacent to the forward edge of thefriction mat. Wires attached to the rearward upper rod 4C are securedfurther from the forward edge of the friction mat. Suitably at adistance of 1.5-1 m from its forward edge, or at least so far rearwardthat the attachment point to the friction mat ends up under, and evenmore preferably behind, the front tire of a vehicle that has collidedwith the crash barrier device. Wires attached to the forward upper rod4B are fixed at distance between the two others. By a suitablepositioning of the attachment points, the friction mat can also bebrought into effective locking engagement around the front tires of thevehicle. Since the front of the vehicle F tensions the wires, thefriction mat 2 will be curved upward, around the tires.

FIG. 3 shows a vehicle F that has been driven onto the friction mat 2and collided with the tires 10. Thanks to the fact that the tires 10 aresecured to the mat 2, the tires 10 are prevented from being sent flyingby the collision. During the collision, the tires 10 absorb energy and,thanks to the fact that the tires 10 are standing up and have theirfriction surface 50 as a contact surface against the support surface, aneffective deceleration is achieved, more effective than when using crashbarrier devices previously known in the market, where the tires arelying flat with the tire side against the support surface. An additionaladvantage is obtained in that the tires 10 are pushed forward in thedriving direction of the vehicle F in the collision. Since the tires 10are attached to the mat and cannot move away, they are pushed forwardand downward against the support surface, so that the friction area 50against the support surface increases substantially, providing an evenmore effective deceleration. Accordingly, a synergy effect, which isvery advantageous for the purpose, is obtained when the tires 10 areplaced with the traction portion against the support surface. A goodroad grip is provided by a substantially increased friction area 50between the tires 10 and the ground, and the entire assembly (vehicle F,mat 2 and tires 10) will have a shorter braking distance,preventing/minimizing the risk that people, vehicles and other materialpresent behind the roadway crash barrier device 1 are hit and getdamaged. A further advantage results from the influence of the weight ofthe vehicle F pressing the friction mat 2 against the support surface 2,and an additional deceleration force is produced, which contributes todecelerating the forward movement of the car.

FIG. 4 shows a roadway crash barrier device 1 according to theinvention, in a view from above. If necessary, for example to close aroadway, it is possible to extend the roadway crash barrier device 1with further shock-absorbing elements 10 at both ends, i.e. interconnectfurther shock-absorbing elements 10 at each end of already lined-upshock-absorbing elements 10. At the outer end of the rods 4, preferablythreaded rods, a jointing sleeve 44 is arranged, making it possible tointerconnect further rods 4 and shock-absorbing elements 10 at bothends. One possible way to do this is to interconnect a new rod 4 at eachof the three already available rods 4A, 4B, 4C at one or both ends ofthe roadway crash barrier device 1. The new rods 4 are interconnected tothe jointing sleeves 44 and a desired number of shock-absorbing elements10 are threaded onto the rods 4. The shock-absorbing elements 10,preferably tires, may on both sides be fixed laterally to the rod 4 bymeans of an outer support washer 42 and a locking nut 43 on the threadedrod 41 (see FIG. 5). Another possible way to interconnect further tires10 to the roadway crash barrier device 1 is to have a number of tires 10that each one of them are arranged with rods 4 to match the rods inalready lined-up tires 10, preferably three rodsrotationally-symmetrically positioned in the tires 10 at about 120°intervals. Also here the tires 10 may on both sides be fixed laterallyto the rods 4 by means of an outer support washer 42 and a locking nut43. The rods 4 extend outside the locking nut 43 at both sides of thetire (see FIG. 5) and serves as a first 41A and a second 41B assemblingmeans. By jointing sleeves 44 one tire 10 at a time is interconnected tothe roadway crash barrier device 1 until desired width of the roadwaycrash barrier device 1 is reached. Other ways of interconnectingadditional tires to the crash barrier device 1 is of course conceivablewithout departing from the inventive concept. In the case when a roadwayneeds to be closed a roadway crash barrier device 1 that extends overthe entire roadway is used. In this case it is preferred that anadditional friction mat 2 is coupled to the connected extra tires 10with connecting means 3, in the way described above, to attain theadvantage with more efficient deceleration. Since the tires 10 areattached to the mat and cannot move away, they are pushed forward anddownward against the support surface, so that the friction area 50against the support surface increases substantially, providing an evenmore effective deceleration.

As seen in FIGS. 4 and 6, the friction mat 2 may at its rearward partcomprise two separate units 20 that in an easy way are exchangeable e.g.hooked or by other means fixed onto the mat 2. Said two separate units20 are positioned to land under a vehicle's F rear wheel when a vehicleF has been driven onto the friction mat 2 and collided with the tires10. The advantage with these separate units 20 are that at a snowy/icyroadway the separate units 20 may consist of snow chains to furtherimprove a vehicles F deceleration.

It is also possible to arrange two or more rows of tires 10 close to thefirst row to further enhance the deceleration. FIG. 7 shows analternative roadway crash barrier device 1 according to the invention,in a view seen obliquely from above. A roadway crash barrier device 1 asdescribed earlier has been arranged with two further rows 101, 102 oftires 10. A second row 101 is arranged, for example by means of struts60 to the tires 10 that are connected to the friction mat 2, and a thirdrow 102 of tires 10 is arranged to the second row 101 by means of struts60, and any possible additional rows are connected to the previous row,and preferably also to the first row. Preferably the struts areconnected to the rods 4 in the first row of tires, but at least to therods in the previous row of tires, in order for the rows to be securedtogether, and in order to transfer/divide the forces to every row oftires to enhance the deceleration. It is understood that the additionalrows 101, 102 may comprise two tires 10 as in FIG. 7 but also maycomprise a suitable number of tires, at least up to as many as in thefirst row of lined-up tires 10. A warning sign post 80 is also easilyarranged in connection with the crash barrier device 1 according to theinvention.

Another alternative embodiment of the roadway crash barrier device 1according to the invention is seen in FIG. 8. In this embodiment twotires 10 are connected to the friction mat 2 as described earlier. Asecond row 101 of tires is connected, preferably by means of struts 60,to the row of tires 10 that are connected to the friction mat 2 and athird row 102, and any possible additional rows, is connected to theprevious row, and preferably also to the first row 10, preferably bymeans of struts 60 as earlier described. This embodiment is preferablyarranged in the ends of roadway railings to decelerate a vehicle F thatmay collide with said railing. The rows of tires 10 and the friction mat2 will give a more effective deceleration. All rows in this describedembodiment preferably comprise a small number of tires, suitably twotires 10 each, and the third row 102 is partly surrounded by aprotection shield 70. Said protection shield 70 surrounds the third row102 at three sides and is preferably arranged close to the end of therailing and is protecting the tires 10 from being ripped apart againstthe railing at a collision. The protection shield 70 also works as asupport for the tires 10 and is preferably made of a composite materialor sheet iron.

According to another aspect, the shock-absorbing tires 10 compriseelastically or plastically deformable stiffening elements 100, which arepreferably disposed circumferentially inside the tire sides to therebyachieve an improved shock absorbing capability. According to this aspectof the invention, the stiffening properties of the stiffening elementsare adapted such that the tires, when hit by a vehicle, do not becometoo stiff, but can be deformed in accordance with the inventive conceptto provide an increased friction area 50 between tires and roadway forincreased friction. This is achieved most easily if the stiffeningelements 100 are constituted by one or several tire sides from othertires, the number of which is adjusted until the desired stiffness ofthe tires 10 is obtained. These tire sides are placed in conformingcontact against the inner tire sides of the shock-absorbing tires 10,and are fixed by means of the continuous rods 4. It is appreciated thatthis offers a unique possibility to obtain a combination of goodfriction properties and good shock absorbing capability, since both thenumber of tires and their stiffness and relative position can be varied.

According to another aspect, the shock-absorbing elements and/or thefriction mat is/are adapted to interact with engagement means 90, whichinteract with the support surface with the purpose of increasing thefriction, primarily on softer support surfaces such as ice, snow andgravel, and thereby improve the friction properties. These engagementmeans 90 are preferably constituted by snow chains for the tires, andhooks or barbs for the bottom side of the friction mat.

Alternative Embodiments

The invention is not limited by what has been described above, but canbe varied within scope of the following claims. It is appreciated, forexample, that the shock-absorbing elements can be placed in severalrows, and not only in one as shown in the figures. Thereby, the totalfriction dampening grip area between tires and support surface isincreased, and an even faster deceleration can be achieved, ifdesirable. However, it should be taken into consideration that thedeceleration should never become so strong that passengers in thevehicle risk injury. The crash barrier device may also be arranged byseveral separate tires arranged side by side and connected to each otheras described earlier. By, for example jointing sleeves, tire after tiremay be interconnected until a desired width of the crash barrier deviceis reached. Furthermore, the shock-absorbing elements can be connectedto the friction mat in other ways than described here, for instance,chains can be welded between the friction mat and the rods.

The skilled person will also appreciate that the friction mat can bemanufactured from other materials, and assume other shapes, withouttaking away from the function of the invention. For example, it can bemanufactured from strips of traction surfaces from old car tires whichare woven or braided together or connected together in another suitablemanner. It is also appreciated that, instead of tires, heavy objectshaving a shock absorbing function can placed on top of such a mat, alongthe forward edge thereof, to thereby obtain a long and large tractionsurface. The friction mat can be made so long that also the rearwardpair of wheels of a vehicle rolls onto the mat, and presses the matagainst the support surface by means of its weight, and therebycontributes to the deceleration. It is also understood that the twoseparate units at the rearward end of the mat may be extended in such away that both the front and the rear wheel are onto the separate unitswhen the vehicle has been driven onto the friction mat, to furtherimprove the deceleration.

The engagement means for increased traction on a soft support surfacecan of course be constituted by other devices than the above-mentionedones. For example, the tires can be provided with spikes.

1-12. (canceled)
 13. A roadway crash barrier device, which roadway crashbarrier device is capable of absorbing energy from a moving vehicle andcontributes to the deceleration of the vehicle when hit, and whichcomprises shock-absorbing elements, constituted by tires, having elasticand shock-absorbing properties and being linked to a friction mat,having an extension substantially parallel to the support surface,characterized in that the tires are disposed along a horizontal, axis,extending along a forward edge of said friction mat, and that the tires'traction surface constitutes a friction surface contacting the supportsurface.
 14. The roadway crash barrier device according to claim 13,wherein said friction surface is adapted to increase in contact area,and to thereby provide an increased braking effect when a vehicle hitsthe shock-absorbing elements.
 15. The roadway crash barrier deviceaccording to claims 13, wherein the shock-absorbing elements areconnected together by means of at least one preferably continuous rod.16. The roadway crash barrier device according to claim 15, wherein saidrod comprises two ends, said ends comprising attachment means.
 17. Theroadway crash barrier device according to claim 16, wherein saidfriction mat is preferably secured to the shock-absorbing elements viaconnecting means, extending between the friction mat and the attachmentmeans.
 18. The roadway crash barrier device according to claim 16,wherein said continuous rods comprise at least one lower rod secured tothe lower half of the tire, suitably adjacent to the friction surface.19. The roadway crash barrier device according to claim 18, wherein saidcontinuous rods also comprise an upper rod secured to the upper half ofthe tire, suitably to the rearward one of two symmetrically placedcircular sectors in the upper half of the tire.
 20. The roadway crashbarrier device according to claim 13, wherein at least one of theshock-absorbing elements comprises elastically or plastically deformablestiffening elements.
 21. The roadway crash barrier device according toclaim 20, wherein the stiffening elements comprise one or several tiresides from other tires disposed circumferentially inside the tire sidesof the shock-absorbing elements.
 22. The roadway crash barrier deviceaccording to claim 13, wherein the shock-absorbing elements and/or thefriction mat is/are adapted to interact with engagement means, saidengagement means being adapted to interact with the support surface,with the purpose of increasing the friction against the support surface,primarily on softer support surfaces such as ice, snow and gravel, andthereby improving the deceleration.
 23. the roadway crash barrier deviceaccording to claim 22, wherein said engagement means are constituted bysnow chains mounted on the tires and/or hooks or barbs mounted on thebottom side of the friction mat.
 24. The roadway crash barrier deviceaccording to claim 13, wherein it comprises several rows of tires,arranged essentially in parallel to the first row of tires which extendsalong the forward edge of said friction mat.